


Off the Beaten Path

by theoddpocalypse



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bonding, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Humor, Keith and Shiro are Siblings, Late Night Conversations, Light Angst, M/M, Mermaids, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Rating May Change, Secret Shack in the Woods, Secrets, Slow Burn, Summer Camp, Walks In The Woods, background hunay, background shallura - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-16 03:43:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11245602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoddpocalypse/pseuds/theoddpocalypse
Summary: The last place Keith wanted to be for the summer was stuck carting children through the woods at the summer camp his brother reopened with his girlfriend, especially considering his fellow counselor, Lance, intends to make everything a competition between the two of them. But while scouting out the nature stops before the camp officially opens, Keith finds a little project all his own, something he can use to get his mind off of the unexpected responsibilities placed upon him. What starts as Keith's little secret becomes something more after Lance discovers it, as the two inexplicably bond over it and grow closer. So maybe going to camp wasn't theworstdecision.





	1. Welcome to Camp

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! So this is my hopefully triumphant return to writing chapter fics again. We'll see. This AU has been a little passion project for me. It started with talking about it to my girlfriend (at the time I didn't know there were any summer camp AUs, though now I know that that's just not true). It's allowed me to blend my own experiences with summer camp and Klance, and I am really excited with how this first chapter has turned out. I hope others like it as well.
> 
> I don't have a posting schedule or anything, but I'll try to be fairly quick. I also don't know how many chapters it will be at the moment. I still have to finish up my YouTubers series as well (only a few parts left of that, but I'll explain more when I post the next part for that). Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this and feel free to let me know what you think! And if you want to see a rundown of the characters that I did on my tumblr, you can check it out by clicking [here](http://theoddpocalypse.tumblr.com/post/161798036578/so-after-my-youtuber-au-is-completed-or-maybe).

“Keith, we’re one counselor short of a full staff, c'mon please help me out here!”

“Nope.”

“Please, just do me this one solid.”

“No thanks.”

“Keith, I will literally do ANYTHING for you in return.”

“I'm good.”

Shiro sighed and Keith stared at him. He'd been a dutifully supportive brother when Shiro came to him with the idea to start a summer camp (well, more like try to revive an old summer camp) with his girlfriend Allura. He thought it was kind of a crazy, but hey, if they wanted to spend their summers with small hormonal humans, power to them. Keith just didn't want to be a part of it and he had said from the start that Shiro was to not try to get him involved.

Yet here he was, trying to get Keith involved.

“We almost didn't have a life guard, but thankfully the cook, Hunk, his best friend is a certified life guard and also needed a summer job. Now all I need is a nature person! And you're perfect for that!”

“A nature person?” Keith deadpanned.

“Keith, you literally disappear in the woods for days at a time! I don't even see why you rent an apartment when you would prefer to live in a tree.”

“But I know for a fact that if I go and work for you as the so-called nature person, I will also have to be a counselor, because that's how summer camps work. And even if you said I wouldn't have to be, I'd still have to work with kids, and you know I'm not good with kids.”

“Keith, please! I am desperate!”

“Good to know I'm a last resort.”

“Keith, please don’t twist my words. You told me not to come to you with this, but I don’t know what else to do. Just one summer, please? That's all I'm asking. If you hate it, I will find someone for next year. I just really need your help this summer. This first summer has to go off perfectly if we even want a second one. This is Allura's and my dream, Keith. Please help me out.”

Shiro was giving him the puppy eyes. Oh god, Keith couldn't handle that. He sighed loudly. “Fine, I will help you. But just the one summer!”

“YES!” Shiro hugged Keith tightly. “Thank you! Thank you so much! I need to call Allura, oh my god. This is going to be so great!”

“Yeah… great.”

* * *

Keith walked into the cabin he was going to be staying in for the next couple months. It was empty for now. Brand new bunks, completely spotless. It would be a couple more days before the campers arrived, but the counselors came early to set up and get ready for the summer ahead. Keith grimaced, setting his bag down on the bed designated for the counselor.

To say he was excited was… a lie.

He was definitely doing this for Shiro.

Keith had never been good with kids. He was barely good with other humans in general. He was just awkward around others, especially small children who were always asking questions that he didn’t have the answers to.

And he was going to have to spend the whole summer with small children. Great. Small children that could possibly die under his watch. Oh god. He was suddenly struck with the thought that a kid was definitely going to die under his watch.

He heard laughter outside. He turned around and looked out the door as two others his age walked past his cabin. One, he recognized as the cook Hunk (he’d met him when he first arrived), was watching the other talk animatedly. The other was tall, tan, and pretty cute. Hunk looked up and waved at Keith with the smile. The other looked over as well, and when he saw Keith, he gave him an almost infuriating grin. He also winked before they continued to walk away. Keith stared after them with narrowed eyes.

 _What an ass_.

Keith was still staring after this stranger when Shiro walked up on his cabin porch. “Hey little bro. You settling in okay?”

“Who was that guy with Hunk?” Keith asked, ignoring Shiro’s question. It was… far too loaded for him. Shiro smiled and rolled his eyes.

“That was Lance. I guess they’ve known each other since they were younger. Why? You think he’s cute?” his brother asked with a knowing look. Keith couldn’t help that his face flushed.

“No!”

“Sure, you don’t. Now c’mon, we’re gonna head back up to the mess. Allura wants everyone up there for a staff meeting, so we can all get to know each other.”

* * *

Keith and Shiro walked to the mess hall. On the way up, Shiro talked about the camp’s history while Keith listened in silence. In his mind he just kept repeating to himself that he was doing this for Shiro, that this would be good for him. He could do a summer in the woods. He’d done it before. It had been his favorite way to wind down after between semesters during college.

The mess was a long building, and inside it was all open with a fireplace at one end, the main office and bathrooms at the other. In the middle, tables with colored chairs sat. Tables for each cabin. Keith was assigned to the red cabin, which he didn’t mind. It was his favorite color after all.

He followed Shiro over towards the office, where Allura and Coran stood. Keith liked Allura. She made his brother happy. And Coran he didn’t know as well, but he liked hearing the older man’s stories. He had a feeling he’d hear many more before the end of the summer.

Laughter made him look up. Lance and Hunk came out of the kitchen, along with a shorter girl who was tapping away at her phone.

“That’s Pidge,” Shiro said in his ear. Keith looked up at his brother. “She’s the resident tech genius, and the green cabin counselor. Her brother Matt is also working here as well. He’s over there talking with Coran.” Keith looked over at Coran and there was in fact a young man- about the same age as himself- talking to him. There was no denying that the two were siblings; he and Pidge had the same haircut.

Two girls walked in from the back door by the bathrooms. Shiro provided their names- Shay and Plaxum. Keith heard a low whistle and turned to see Lance give the girls finger-guns. Both of them giggled, but the one named Plaxum visibly blushed. Keith rolled his eyes and looked back to the front as Allura cleared his throat.

“Hello everyone! Welcome to Camp Altea!” she announced. “Before my father died, this place was his legacy. Children from all around looked forward to summer, because it meant they would get to come here, see their friends, make new ones, and create experiences they would never forget. I myself look back fondly on my days here as a young girl. My father passed when I was fifteen years old, and the camp was closed down. But I just couldn’t let that stand. Thankfully, with the support of those around me, I was able to get this place back up and running, and this will be our first official summer back at camp!”

Everyone clapped. Lance even let out a loud whoop. Keith found that to be a bit overkill.

“This is basically just a little meeting so I can provide each of you with your camp tasks. You all know what you’ll be doing, but as I am trying to really stick to what my father started, I want to keep it as structured as he had it. I also wanted to let you know that you have all been assigned a counselor-in-training or CIT, if you will. They will be the ones moving your campers around during the day between their activities while you will all be doing your other jobs. They will be arriving tomorrow and you’ll have plenty of time to get to know them before Drop Off Day! Now, to your assignments. Feel free to get to know each other while I talk to you individually.” Allura grabbed the first binder- an orange one- and turned to speak with Matt. Shiro joined her, leaving Keith to his own devices.

He walked away from the group, arms crossed over his chest, looking at the architecture of the building. It was just a long cabin really and it felt so warm and inviting, yet Keith still felt weird and out of place. But that wasn’t new. He always had felt out of place, no matter where he was.

He felt a tap at his shoulder and turned around to the see one of the girls- Pidge. She gave him a short wave. “Hey. I’m Pidge, welcome to camp,” she said, holding out her hand. Keith took it and shook it.

“Keith. Thanks, I guess.”

“Shiro said he had to beg you to come.” Keith shrugged.

“I’m here.”

Pidge gave him an easy smile. “Don’t worry too much. And don’t be nervous. Everyone here is really cool. Hunk is a giant teddy bear, Shay and Plax are really nice. My brother is… a person. Technically. And Lance can be a bit loud, but so far he seems harmless.”

“Pidgey, are you talking about me? Better be about how handsome I am.” Lance strolled up behind her and placed his arm on top of Pidge’s head. He gave Keith that same infuriating grin as before, when Keith had seen him outside his cabin. Keith raised a brow as Pidge weakly shoved at Lance.

“Lance, get off me.”

“Not until you prove to me that you were saying only nice things,” he responded, rubbing his elbow into her hair. That caused her to shove a little harder, and Lance dramatically fell back, luckily being caught by Hunk who had just come up behind them. “Hunk, you’re always there to catch me when I fall.”

“Lance, oh my god,” Hunk responded, shaking his head. Lance straightened up and turned his attention back to Keith.

“The name’s Lance,” he said, smoothing his hand over his hair. Keith nodded.

“So I’ve heard.” Lance raised a brow at him.

“Courtesy dictates that you introduce yourself back.”

“Does it?”

They seemed to enter into a staring competition of sorts, both of them unwilling to let their gaze waver. That is until Allura approached them, holding a red binder.

“Everything alright here?” she asked, looking between the two of them. Lance broke the eye contact to give Allura a toothy smile.

“Of course everything is okay, beautiful. Especially with you here.” He gave her double finger-guns and winked. She rolled her eyes at him, but smiled.  
  
“Alright, Lance.” Her tone sounded annoyed, but clearly this had happened before. She looked up at Keith. “I have your binder here, Keith. Let’s step aside and talk about it.” Keith nodded and followed her over towards the fireplace, glad to have an escape. She handed the binder over to him. “Inside this is a map and description of each other the nature stops the camp has. Coran has already gone through and cleared out all of the trails for you. And each stop also has a story, which are also in the binder. Feel free to update them if you’d like, I’m sure at this point they are a little dated. I just want to make sure you feel comfortable here, Keith. I want you to help shape this place.”

Keith smiled slightly at her, opening the binder to look through it. The stories ranged from fairies to haunts. Right up his alley honestly. “I’ll look through them, thanks.”

“I also really want to thank you, Keith. I know you didn’t want to be here, but I do appreciate your presence, even if it’s just for this one summer,” Allura added. Keith gave her a real smile at that. She really was a good person.

“No problem, Allura. I’ll try really hard to not let you down.”

She patted his arm. “I know it’s more for Shiro, but I’ll pretend it’s all for me. I’m sure you’ll be great, Keith. Feel free to spend the next few days going through the trails. They are essentially yours now.” With that, Allura walked away. He could’ve easily gone back over to the others, but he didn’t. They were nice, sure. Lance was… something. But Keith was just here to make some money and have a roof over his head. It was a job.

And the trails were calling his name. He wanted to get to know them, and know them well. He’d get to know the other counselors later. If he had to.

* * *

There was something so peaceful about being in the woods.

There was a reason Keith liked to disappear into the forest. There was no rushing. There was no expectation. There was just calm and the elements, and Keith loved that. He loved feeling like he was apart of nature. He loved the quiet.

So maybe he would have to tote kids around through it for a couple months. It could be worth it to get at least one kid to see the beauty of the world. And really, this was his element. He just hoped the little kids wouldn’t ruin it all for him.

Keith walked the trails, looking down at the map occasionally. It wasn’t hard to figure out, considering all the trails were made and very clearly marked. But he liked seeing these places and reading the stories for them. They were all interesting and the area was absolutely stunning in and of itself.

One of the trails brought him out to the lake. The spot was accompanied by the story of a beautiful mermaid who was dumped into the lake by pirates thousands of years ago. Keith stood at the edge of the water and he could see beautiful sparkling rocks under the surface, glittering in the sun. They were part of the story, the diamonds from a separate pirate ship that the mermaid caused to sink out of revenge. According to the binder, the mermaid was said to still be in the lake, trying to find her way back home, and that if you came to the lake at sunrise or sunset, you could catch a glimpse of her tail breaking the surface of the water.

A splash to his right had Keith jumping and looking over. He noticed that from where he stood, he could see the designated swimming area. There were canoes lining the shore, two long docks (one for the swimmers and one for boarding the canoes), a floating raft a bit further away from the swimming dock, and a life guard chair in the middle. Keith watched the water, until someone surfaced. Lance. _Of course_. With a quick look at the dock again, Keith could see a blue binder sitting beside a discarded t-shirt and a pair of flip flops.

Lance didn’t seem to notice him, swimming smoothly to the raft and climbing onto it. His dark skin seemed to glow under the sun. And okay, he was a little beautifully built. Not ripped, but definitely muscular. A swimmer’s body through and through.

Keith refused to admit that he was blushing. He refused to admit that this person that he would be spending the summer in close proximity of was attractive. This was a job. There wasn’t place for a summer romance. Keith didn’t _want_ a summer romance.

Besides, Lance was clearly disgustingly straight.

Keith’s inner battle distracted him for a moment, long enough for Lance to notice him as well. He called out Keith’s name (even though Keith hadn’t introduced himself), and dove back into the water, in the direction of where Keith stood.

He took the opportunity of Lance being under the water to book it out of there. He didn’t feel like anymore banter for the day. He’d had his fill. Plus, he’d just been inadvertently checking the other man out, and it was just too awkward a situation all around.

“Don’t get a crush, Keith. Never ends well,” he muttered to himself, pushing through the brush and going off the beaten path. Trails were too set in stone. He needed to lose himself for a bit.

* * *

Keith walked along the lake, just taking his time. He knew he wasn’t lost, because he would just follow the lake back. He would be fine.

As he walked, he read through all the stories again. He was pretty sure he didn’t have to have them exactly memorized and he could make his own details if he wanted to (since Allura said he could), but he liked the original stories and felt they held up pretty well. He didn’t really feel like he needed to change them at all.

He stopped for a moment to turn back to the map. He wanted to figure out where he was exactly. When he looked up from the binder, intending to look for some kind of natural marker that might show where he was, he saw a small building a couple yards away. Walking closer, he found that it was a small shack, definitely abandoned, definitely not in the best shape.

Looking back at the map, he saw that it was actually on there. It must’ve been an old part of the camp that had fallen too into disarray for them to need now, considering no paths were cleared for it and it wasn’t actually a part of any of the nature walks.

It looked like one of the cabins honestly, just much smaller. But it had a little porch on the outside and even had an outhouse.

As Keith inspected it, excitement suddenly flared up in his chest. Shiro had told him that he would have downtime each day where he could do what he wanted, even leave the camp if he wanted to. And this wasn’t even that far off the beaten path, so it he would still be plenty close by if need be. He could fix this place up… have a little oasis all for himself. He could definitely do this.

“Well, this summer just got a whole lot more interesting.”


	2. Drop-Off Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first couple days at camp are not really what Keith expected. Especially when a certain someone just loves challenging him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait guys, but I did say before that I won't have an upload schedule! This story is definitely not abandoned though, I just can't promise that I'm gonna be super regular about uploads. I am sorry about that, I wish I was better, but I can't force myself to write within a time frame, it will make me hate this story and not want to write it at all.
> 
> I do hope you all enjoy the chapter though and that you keep looking forward to more!

Drop-Off Day was not what Keith anticipated, but also everything he feared. It was loud, kids screaming every which way Keith looked. He had tried to escape into the woods for the day (his CIT, Marco, could handle it), but Shiro had stopped him before he could. 

“You can’t miss Drop-Off Day,” he’d said.

So there Keith was, standing in a bright red shirt with the not at all redundant words “Red Cabin” across his chest. The sun was bearing down on him and he could already feel the sweat starting to pool at the base of his neck under his hair. He quickly gathered up his hair and put it in a sloppy ponytail.

Campers were being randomly assigned to cabins. Every time a new kid came over to him he didn’t really know how to react. Thankfully Marco was good with the kids, happily introducing them both and making sure the newest member talked to the others. Keith almost made a passing comment that Marco should’ve been the counselor in this situation.

Around him were the other counselors in their own colored shirts, waiting for campers to join them and their CITs. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge were all standing pretty close together, Lance cheering loudly every time a new camper entered his circle.

It had only been a week but Keith was hearing Lance’s voice in his goddamn sleep. Any moment he had, he was leaving the camp long enough to grab some supplies and then making his way back into the woods to work on his shed. It was the only way he could escape and an easy way to get his mind off of things (and off of certain people).

Thankfully the little building didn’t need a whole hell of a lot of work, but now that the campers had arrived, he would have a lot less time to work on it.

He flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see his brother. Shiro gave him a warm smile. “How you doin’, Keith?” he asked. Keith shrugged.

“Fine.”

“Have you talked to your campers?”

“Yes.”

“More than just an introduction?”

“You know I’m not good with kids.”

“Well, you can’t just pawn them off on your CIT all summer. There will come times when you're the one watching over them, not him.”

Keith sighed. “Shiro, stop worrying about me. I’m just waiting until I have all my campers and then I’ll talk to all of them collectively. Maybe. I don’t know. It’ll be fine.”

“YES! ANOTHER ONE FOR BLUE!” Lance’s voice cut through their conversation. Keith refused to fall for the bait and look over at him. Except it was kind of hard to not take the bait when Lance decided to make his presence known by draping an arm over Keith’s shoulder. “Suck it, Red,” he said in Keith’s ear. Keith shoved him off.

“You ever heard of personal space?” he asked.

“Personal space? I don’t know her,” Lance responded. Keith rolled his eyes. “Aw, you jealous Keith? That my cabin is better than yours.”

“You do realize this isn’t a competition. Also, don’t say stuff like that, you’re gonna upset the kids.” Keith looked to Shiro for support, but the traitor had already slipped away and was off talking to Matt. Keith glared at him.

“You’re just mad that I’m going to have the best cabin this season,” Lance said.

“I literally couldn’t care less.”

“At the end of the summer, my cabin will win the most superlatives.”

“Oh my god, do you ever stop talking?”

“C’mon Keith, don’t be like that.”

Lance was leaning in close again and Keith couldn’t handle this. As irritating as Lance was, he smelled so good and it was all very confusing in Keith’s brain.

“Lance, I don’t understand why you keep starting stuff with me,” he said, pushing Lance away again. Lance just continued to grin and shrugged.

“Your hotheadedness is a little cute. It’s pretty fun to watch the steam pour out of your ears. Plus, I've already name you my rival. I'm telling you right now, this summer is gonna be all Lance and Keith, neck and neck.”

Keith didn’t blush. He definitely did not blush at being called cute in such a backwards way. He shook his head. “Go back to your campers, Lance,” he said, pointedly looking away from him. He heard Lance chuckle.

“Until we meet again, Keith.”

* * *

By the end of the few hours, Keith had eight young children all looking up at him with little red bandanas around their necks or hanging out of their pockets. They had expectant looks on their faces, and Keith was honestly at a loss of what to do, what to say. But he had to do something. He had to say something.

“ _ These kids are here to have a good time. Just be nice and make sure they enjoy their summer _ ,” Shiro had said to him when the kids started to arrive.

“Um… hi.” Keith waved awkwardly to the kids. They all looked a little confused. “So, formal introductions. I’m Keith, your counselor, and this is Marco, your CIT.” Keith motioned to Marco who waved. “Why don’t we all go around and introduce ourselves?”

They played the get to know you game that Keith knew too well from every college course he’d ever taken. They went in a circle, stating their name, where they were from, and one fact about them that was particularly interesting.

Once they'd all had their turn, Keith was a little at a loss, so he asked the kids if they had any questions. The first one that had been assigned to his cabin raised his hand.

“Do you have a crush on the Blue Cabin counselor?”

“Okay, that's enough questions! Time for everyone to pick our their bunks and get ready for dinner!”

* * *

“Hello everyone! Let me officially welcome you all to Camp Altea!”

Applause broke out around the outside of the Mess. Each cabin was standing in a line, the CITs standing behind their campers, waiting to go inside for their first meal of the summer. Each counselor (aside from Hunk who was inside finishing up work on the big meal) was stood behind Allura as she spoke to the campers.

“This is where we will meet before each meal, just as you all are now. As we wait for each cabin to arrive each day, we will sing songs that have been passed down throughout this camp’s existence, songs you will know for the rest of your lives but will never be able to explain to your friends who didn’t have the privilege to come here. And once we’ve all convened, we will enter the Mess Hall and enjoy the delicious meal that the Yellow Cabin counselor Hunk has whipped up for us!”

Keith had honestly never seen Allura so happy and he’d witnessed her and Shiro talk about marriage.

“I am so excited that this camp, my family’s legacy, has been restored, and I hope you all enjoy this summer as much as I always enjoyed mine. Now, how about we learn a couple songs!”

The children cheered and Keith receded as far back into the shadows as he possibly could. Yes, he did technically know the songs, but that didn’t mean he had any interest in singing them. So he placed himself against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, pointedly ignoring the looks Shiro was sending him.

In front of him, standing beside Allura, Lance was so boisterously singing and even dancing. He was so full of energy, Keith didn’t understand. This was clearly his element. He and Keith were so different in that respect.

Pidge walked up to him and leaned against the wall beside him. “No singing for you?” she asked.

“Not a big fan of songs about little bunny froo froo hopping through the forest,” he responded, shrugging. Pidge snorted.

“Can’t say I blame you. But the kids like them. I already started teaching my girls some of them, just so they’d know them when we got here.”

“You’re part of the problem.”

“You’re gonna hear the songs all summer. Might as well get used to it.”

Keith wrinkled his nose. Lance turned around and smirked at them, motioning for them to join the rest of the group and sing. Keith shook his head at him. Lance rolled his eyes playfully and turned back to the campers, seemingly singing louder, as if to annoy Keith.

“Why do you let Lance get to you?” Pidge asked.

“I don’t.”

“Okay.” The sarcasm was disgustingly palpable in her tone. Keith looked over at her. Her snark was something he’d come to enjoy during the week they’d known each other. He was looking forward to getting to know more of her snark. “Listen, if you keep rising to his bait, he’s gonna keep messing with you.”

It was Keith’s turn to shrug, which seemed to end the conversation, though Keith had a sinking suspicion it would pop back up in the future.

The songs ended as Hunk came out of the Mess and announced that dinner was ready and everyone filed inside. Each table was colored for the cabins (not a trend at all), and there was food set on each table, ready to be served around. As he walked inside, Lance snuck up beside Keith.

“You’re going to be singing with me by the end of the summer,” he whispered in Keith’s ear.

“Is that so?” Keith asked, raising a brow. Lance smirked and nodded, before essentially skipping off to his table (which happened to be next to Keith’s own). Keith just shook his head, smiling to himself.

Challenge accepted.

* * *

Keith’s first day of being the Nature Director was a bit overwhelming. The way daily activities were rotated throughout the day was similar to a college schedule, in that the campers wouldn't get to do every single activity every day, but would get to do certain ones on each day. It was basically an every other day situation during the week with weekends being free for campers to really kind of do whatever they liked within reason.

The schedule for each day was essentially wake up at seven, get ready for the day with breakfast line up starting at eight. By nine, the first activity would start and last until eleven, giving the campers an hour to relax in their cabins until it was time for lunch at noon. After lunch, the second activity of the day would start at one and last until three. The campers would have the opportunity to relax again for another hour before going up to the Drop-Off area in front of the Mess, where nightly games would be played, similar to game stations in gym class. Dinner was at six, and after that they would either convene around a large fire pit or watch a movie in the Mess (there was a projector and screen over by the fireplace). And then it was time to head back to the cabins to get ready for bed.

So with the campers having two activities during the weekdays lasting two hours each, that would mean that Keith was really only carting kids around the woods for four hours every day. When Keith had first read the schedule in his information binder, he’d been pretty overwhelmed. It seemed like so much, but honestly for him, he didn’t have that much responsibility during the day. When he didn’t have to be with a group, he was just sitting in the Nature building (which was essentially just a long lean-to), going over his maps.

He realized pretty quickly on that first day that he didn’t have to be chained to the building all day and could probably just do whatever he wanted when he didn’t have to be responsible for any children.

He’d had the Green Cabin and the Blue Cabin his first day. And really, they didn’t even do that much. He pretty much went over all the safety measures that the kids needed to know before they even thought about venturing out of the Nature Building. And then for the rest of the time they just played some simple games, since they really didn't have any time to actually go on a nature walk.

Really, it wasn’t that bad. The kids were easily entertained and actually laughed at some of his dumb dry jokes because kids really were smarter than people gave them credit for a lot of the time. If he was being honest, he actually had a pretty fun day, and couldn’t help but think that maybe the summer really wouldn’t be that bad.

* * *

He had just let the Blue Cabin go and he knew he was free from the Nature Building. Keith cleaned up his supplies as quickly as he could and looked at the schedule in his binder to make sure he had enough time to run out to his shack and get something done. If he ran, he could get at least a half hour of work in.

Stuffing his binder into his bag, he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going and ran right into someone. That someone was shirtless and grabbed him to steady him. Keith looked up to see Lance grinning down at him. 

“Whoa there, Speed Racer. Where are you headed off to in such a hurry?” he asked. Keith all but jumped away from him, definitely not blushing again. Or at all, because Keith didn’t blush because of Lance. Lance was not attractive enough at all to blush about, even shirtless, his dark skin essentially glowing in the sunlight filtering through the treetops.

“Um… nowhere,” Keith said, playing with the strap of his bag awkwardly. Lance raised his brow at him.

“Well, if you're not heading anywhere, how about we try to race across the lake. Loser has to give the winner their dessert for the week,” he suggested.

“Maybe some other time,” Keith mumbled, stepping around Lance and running off, refusing to look back.

“I’m gonna hold you to that, Kogane! You’re not going to escape this rivalry!” Lance called after him. Keith shook his head. Why did Lance McClain have to complicate everything?

* * *

Keith didn’t get much time with his shack that day before he had to head back to the camp and meet up with the other counselors for the nightly games. But his first day was eye-opening and he knew he’d be able to find more time during the days that followed.

And when Lance bet him that his campers would decimate Keith’s in a game of Capture the Flag, well… Keith fell for it. And when Keith’s cabin won and he got to shoot Lance a cocky smirk, Lance just chuckled.

“Next time, Keith. I’ll get you next time.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on [tumblr](theoddpocalypse.tumblr.com) for lots of Klance and Voltron and other stuff.


	3. Treasure in the Lake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith tells the kids the story of a beautiful mermaid in the lake, and Lance finds out the truth of where Keith is constantly sneaking off to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... shows up almost a year later with Starbucks and a new chapter... When I realized I hadn't updated this fic in almost a year, I decided that needed to change. I wrote this in about two hours. I'm sorry, I'm going to try to be better. I've been writing a lot lately, so I think I'm getting my groove back. Also, as a reminder:  
>   
> Keith - 24 - Red Cabin/Nature Director  
> Lance - 24 - Blue Cabin/Lifeguard  
> Hunk - 24 - Yellow Cabin/Camp Cook  
> Pidge - 21 - Green Cabin/IT Director  
> Matt - 25 - Orange Cabin/Sports Director  
> Shay - 24 - Pink Cabin/Arts&Crafts Director  
> Plaxum - 25 - Purple Cabin/Camp Nurse  
> Shiro - 30 - Camp Co-Director  
> Allura - 28 - Camp Co-Director  
> Coran - 50 - Camp Handyman

Really, once he got used to it, being a counselor wasn’t all that bad. The kids loved exploring the outdoors, finding interesting rocks and climbing on trees. They also really loved finding big sticks to use as walking sticks, even though Keith warned them that walking sticks weren’t always the safest when it came to hiking (not that the kids cared, they really just wanted to use them for imaginary sword fights and honestly, Keith couldn’t blame them for that). It made Keith happy to know that he could share his love for the outdoors with a new generation. Not that he was anti-technology, just that he knew that there was nothing better than just taking the time to experience nature in it’s truest form every once in a while.

The kids especially loved the stories Keith had to tell them. He knew this because he was constantly hearing kids tell kids from other cabins about the story that Keith had shared with them that day. It filled him with a sense of accomplishment. It had only been a couple of weeks but he really did feel like he was doing a good job and was making an impact on these kids.

Though of course, anytime he could, he was sneaking away to his shack to do more work on it. He found that nighttime was really the best time because counselors always left their cabins after lights out and it didn’t seem weird that he just disappeared for a while. Well, he was pretty sure it didn’t seem weird, he hadn’t really asked around to see if anyone noticed. Really all he had left was windows and painting. And finding time to sneak away to town to get stuff to put inside. He was hoping he could do it on a weekend while the kids had more free time.

And then of course, there was Lance. He really wasn’t going to give up the whole rivalry thing apparently. He was goading Keith into competitions constantly. And because of Keith’s hotheaded and competitive nature, he always gave into it. It definitely wasn’t because Lance’s grin when they were going head to head made Keith’s traitor stomach feel all fluttery.

Lance aside even, Keith had made good friends with the other counselors as well. Pidge was really cool and Hunk was constantly sneaking him snacks that he’d made (which were always amazing). Lance and Pidge liked to tease Hunk whenever Shay wasn’t around, and Keith silently hoped Hunk would ask her out, since they would be a cute couple. They were honestly just fun to be around and Keith was genuinely having a good time (though if Shiro asked, he would definitely lie).

* * *

“Can anybody guess where we’re going today?” Keith asked the group. He had his cabin and the Green cabin kids currently, and they were trekking through the woods. He hadn’t taken them this way before, but it was easy to tell what direction they were going, considering you could hear the sound of water lapping against the shore.

“We’re going towards the lake!” one of the Green cabin kids responded.

“That’s correct, but we’re not going for the reasons one normally does. Usually the lake means swimming and canoeing, but today I’m going to blow your minds.” Keith led them through the path, down toward the water. They came out to the little pool of water off to the side of the canoe docks that Keith had found on his very first day at the camp. The sun was high in the sky, so the pebbles in the water sparkled especially bright.

He couldn’t help that his eyes glanced over at the swimming area, where he could see Lance sitting in the life guard post. As always, Lance noticed him as well and waved. Keith waved back, motioning to the kids after to show that he was turning his attention back to them.

“Anyone wanna take a guess as to why we’re here?” he asked. Several of the kids had removed their shoes and were wading into the shallow water of the pool. It barely reached their ankles, so Keith didn’t mind much.

“Are we gonna swim in our clothes?” one of his kids asked. Keith laughed a little and shook his head.  
“No, definitely not. I don’t particularly want to have to dry your day clothes right now. No, the reason we are here is because I have a special story for you guys today.” Keith wasn’t entirely sure how this story was going to go over with the boys, but he liked it a lot. It had actually been one of his favorites of the camp stories. “Hundreds of years ago, this lake connected to the ocean, and right where we’re standing there was a large treasure.” All the kids gasped. Keith grinned. “Pirates were constantly coming into this cove, looking for the treasure, but they were never able to find it.”

“It’s so shallow here, how did they not find it?” one of the kids asked.

“Well, at the time, this area was very deep. But it was also guarded by something.” A hush fell over the kids. He definitely had their full attention. “It was guarded by a beautiful mermaid.” More gasps erupted from the group.

“Really, Mr. Keith? An actual mermaid!” It was one of his campers that seemed the most excited, a boy named Troy. He was the youngest member of the Red cabin. Keith nodded.

“An actual mermaid! One with a big blue sparkly tail! The mermaid had collected the treasure and didn’t want any of the pirates to take it. So the mermaid guarded the treasure day and night, and the pirates were never able to find it. Whenever they came close, the mermaid would attack them to keep them away. But you wanna know something really cool?” The kids nodded. “See the shiny specks in the water? They say those are pieces of the treasure.”

It was a mad dash of children reaching into the water to grab a sparkly piece of treasure for themselves. Keith laughed a little. “Don’t take all of it! The treasure has been here for a very long time and everyone should be able to have a little piece of it.”

“Yes Mr. Keith!”

“Just know that when you’re down here at the lake, keep your eyes open. You might just see the mermaid’s tail out of the corner of your eye.”

* * *

“Mr. Keith, I can’t believe there’s an actual mermaid in the lake! Mermaids are one of my all time favorites!” Troy said excitedly. He’d been talking Keith’s ear off the whole way back to the Nature Building, his little hand clasped tightly in his counselor’s. “I have a book about them at home! It’s a really big book, so I haven’t read all of it yet, but I’m working on it. I even brought it with me to camp!”

“It sounds like a good book, buddy. Maybe you can show me sometime,” Keith said, smiling down at the kid. Troy opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off.

“C’mon Troy, it’s just a camp story. Mermaids aren’t real,” one of his older campers, Roger, said.

“Yes they are! Why would Mr. Keith lie to us?” Troy said back, his tone clearly angry. Keith was quick to simmer the situation.

“If Troy believes in mermaids, there isn’t anything wrong with that. The world is a big place, especially the oceans, most of which are still unexplored. There are things out there we haven’t even discovered yet,” he said, hoping it was the right thing to say. He didn’t want to dismiss Troy’s excitement, but he didn’t want to straight up call out Roger in any way. Roger just shrugged.

“I mean, I guess.”

Troy seemed happy with Keith’s response. “I want to see the mermaid. Do you think before the end of the summer I’ll actually get to?” he asked. Keith smiled.

“You very well could, Troy.”

* * *

It had been about fifteen minutes since he put his campers down for the night. Thankfully the pre-dinner games wore them right out and most of them went out like a light. Marco was in his bed, reading. Keith grabbed up his bag and nodded to him on the way out. Marco was a good CIT. He was nice and he didn’t require too much talking. He just kind of got that Keith wasn’t great at small talk. Keith really liked that about him.

He started his hike to the shack, humming one of the camp songs to himself. They were annoyingly catchy, not that he would sing them with the others. He wasn’t giving Lance the satisfaction.

He was about halfway there when he swore he heard footsteps behind him. He stopped abruptly and looked around, pointing his flashlight in every which direction. He didn’t see anything and chalked it up to just general paranoia.

After a final look around the surrounding area, Keith turned back towards the path and kept going, choosing to ignore the feeling that he was being watched.

* * *

He walked up onto the little porch and unlocked the padlock on the shack door, walking inside. He decided to leave the door open, one for the paint fumes, and two because there was a nice breeze. He had a couple lanterns hanging from the ceiling that he lit, illuminating the window panes on the floor that he’d already started to paint. He opened up his bag, pulling out a little radio. He turned it on and set it on the floor. The only station he got out that far in the woods was an oldies station, but he didn’t mind. It was just meant to be quiet background noise while he worked.

He had picked a nice blue color (that was not at ALL similar to Lance’s eyes) for the window panes. He opened the paint can and grabbed his cleaned brush from the bag so he could get back to work. He’d gotten a couple of paint strokes in when he heard a sound at the still open door.

“So this is where you sneak off to at night?”

Keith essentially jumped out of his skin, turning to the door with wide eyes to see Lance standing there, just casually leaning against the door frame.

“What are you doing?” Keith blurted out. Lance was looking around.

“This is cool. Did you build this?”

“Did you follow me out here?”

Lance looked over at Keith at that, and he did have the decency to look guilty. “You don’t hang out with the rest of us counselors at night and I’ve seen you sneaking away into the woods on more than one occasion. I just got curious.”

Keith’s eyes were still wide. “That’s a little creepy.” Lance blushed and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Yeah… yeah, I guess it is. Sorry.” Silence fell upon them for a few very long moments. They were just kinda staring at each other. Lance was the one to break the silence. “Can I come in?”

“I guess?” Keith was very confused. His heart was racing for many reasons, one because of Lance’s general presence, but also because this little place that was his own now had someone else in it and he didn’t know how to feel about it.

Lance took a couple steps in, still looking around. His eyes caught on the paint on the floor. “That’s a nice color.” Hopefully he didn’t realize that it totally _wasn’t_ almost the same shade of blue as his eyes….

“Thanks,” Keith said, looking away from him so he wouldn’t see Keith blushing. He dipped his brush back in the paint and went back to painting.

“So, did you build this whole thing? It doesn’t seem like two weeks is enough time for that to happen.”

“Um, no, the building was up. I’ve just fixed it. Made it look better. Made it more structurally sound.”

“You did a really good job. This is cool.”

“Thanks.”

Silence fell over them again, Keith painting as Lance continued to walk around the small space. Keith had kind of gone back into his own head when he realized Lance sat down beside him. “Can I help?” he asked.

“Help paint?” Keith responded. Lance nodded. “I only have one brush.”

Lance hummed and shrugged. “I’ll just be prepared next time.” Keith raised a brow at him.

“Next time?”

“Yeah, next time. If… if that’s okay with you, of course.”

Lance was looking at him so earnestly. It wasn’t a look he was used to seeing on Lance. In fact, Keith was pretty sure he’d never seen that expression on Lance’s face at all. Usually Lance had on his signature cocky smirk, the one that drove Keith completely insane. He was attracted to the grin, but this look… Keith didn’t think he could say no to this look.

God, when had he gotten so weak for a boy he barely knew?

“Sure,” Keith said softly. Lance’s eyes lit up at that and Keith couldn’t help but smile, definitely failing to ignore the stupid butterflies in his traitor stomach.

“Awesome,” Lance replied. “This is gonna be fun!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanna yell at me for taking so long? I understand. You can do it here or on my a [tumblr](theoddpocalypse.tumblr.com).


	4. Secrets Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance start to spend more time together, bonding over the shack that they now both know about. Unfortunately for Keith, he has a stupid traitor stomach and a stupid traitor heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter so soon. I think I'm getting my groove back, guys. Hope you like it!

The next night, Lance showed up at the shack with a brand new paintbrush. He told Keith he got it from Shay, but Keith was pretty sure he just stole it from the Arts and Crafts building. He sat down beside Keith and opened another can of paint, getting right to work.

At first Keith thought it would be uncomfortable having Lance in his space again, but really, Lance made it kind of impossible to be uncomfortable. He immediately started rambling. He wasn’t necessarily asking Keith to join into the conversation, just talking and filling up with the silence with his own chatter. It was like he just innately knew that Keith wouldn’t want to do much talking, so he just did it for him. It was… nice actually.

Lance told him about his siblings mostly. How many he had. How he was the baby of his siblings, but not of the family considering how many nieces and nephews he had. “I usually end up babysitting all of them. My sister actually got a little mad when I said I couldn’t this summer,” Lance said with a laugh.

“Because you’re here?” Keith asked. It was the first time he’d spoken up since Lance started talking. Lance smiled at him.  
“Yeah. But I mean, so far I don’t regret that decision.” There was a look in his eyes that Keith couldn’t quite place, so he looked away, a soft blush painting his cheeks. “Is it true Shiro had to beg you to come?” Lance asked. Keith snickered a little.

“Yeah. It definitely took some convincing. I’m not the greatest with-”

“Human interaction?”

“Kids, you ass.” They both laughed. “But I mean, I actually like it so far. The kids are at that age where they’re only slightly sarcastic some of the time,” Keith explained with a shrug. Lance hummed.

“You apparently don’t deal with Pidge’s campers a lot. Those girls are picking up her attitude,” he joked.

“If you’re saying our campers are going to start to take on our personalities, then I feel very sorry for yours,” Keith joked back. Lance play gasped.  
“Wow, Keith. Wow. Low blow. I am actually hurt right now.”

“Oh yeah, you so sound it.”

* * *

They were able to knock out the rest of the window panes that night. Keith was excited because that meant he’d be able to put them up the next. As he was cleaning up for the night, Lance asked him if he could come back and help him more. Keith couldn’t say no. Not when Lance was giving him that earnest look again. So he just nodded and Lance smiled so bright and Keith’s heart went absolutely crazy. He wondered when that would stop.

* * *

It was really nice hanging out with Lance without the pretense of a rivalry or any competition. The next night, Lance actually met him at his cabin and walked with him out to the shack. Together they put up all the window panes, which was only slightly difficult in the dark. Lance still filled up the space with talk, and Keith actually joined in the conversation. They were learning about each other, and really, Keith had fun.

The night after that, they removed the door from it’s hinges and painted it. Lance had picked out the paint, wanted it to be a surprise. Keith didn’t even know how he snuck away from the camp so quickly to get the paint (Lance said he would never reveal his secrets, but really Keith was pretty sure he just stole the paint from either Shay or Coran). When Keith opened the can, he noticed it was a really nice bright red.

“Blue window panes for me, a big red door for you,” Lance said. Fuck, he was too cute.

“I like it. Thanks Lance,” Keith responded.

The door turned out great.

* * *

The next night, after they put the door back up, they planned what they could bring into the shack to make it more cozy, and decided that they could probably get away during the weekend to get some stuff. Keith was way too excited about this.

* * *

It was a beautiful Saturday, the perfect day to sneak off campus to go to Walmart with Lance. Marco had promised he could keep the kids occupied, apparently he and the other CITs planned to do game stations with the kids all day. Keith knew he was going to owe Marco big time by the end of the summer.

Keith had been heading up to the parking lot to meet Lance to leave for the day to get their things, when he heard voices. He stopped in his tracks and ducked behind a tree, looking around it to see Lance talking to Plax. Lance was smiling at her and Plax was giggling and touching his arm. Keith felt jealousy twist in his stomach, which was stupid. Lance wasn’t his. Just because they’d hung out a bit the past few nights didn’t mean anything.

“Stop it, stupid gay heart,” Keith whispered to himself. He looked back over at Lance and Plax, just as Lance leaned in close to whisper something into her ear. Her eyes widened and she smacked his chest playfully, before whispering something back. Keith felt sick.

He decided to make his presence known, stepping around the tree and walking over towards them. They looked up and Lance’s face lit up. “Keith!” he said. And damn Lance for making him feel sick and then all melty at the same time, how the fuck was he so weak for this boy? “I was wondering where you were, buddy.”

“Oh yeah, sorry. My campers weren’t very motivated to get ready today,” Keith said with a shrug, smiling slightly. It was a lie. Lance didn’t seem to notice. “Hey Plax.”

“Hi Keith,” Plax said, before sharing a little look with Lance. Keith didn’t know if it was just his eyes playing tricks on him, but it definitely looked like Lance blushed. “Talk later, Lance?” she asked, a brow raised. Lance nodded.

“Yeah, definitely.” Lance turned back to Keith. “You ready to go?” Keith couldn’t look him in the eye.

“Yeah, lets go.”

* * *

The car ride to Walmart was oddly quiet. Lance flipped through the radio stations while Keith stared listlessly out the window, not noticing the looks that Lance kept sending him.

“So, I was thinking we could get like a portable generator. That way we could put like a little mini fridge in there. You know, for drinks and stuff,” Lance started, glancing over at Keith with a small smile. Keith nodded.

“That could be cool.” Honestly, with the way his stomach was feeling, he didn’t really know if he wanted Lance to be apart of his shack anymore. It felt weird. _He_ felt weird. And then he felt stupid for feeling weird because he had no real right to feel weird. He was just jealous over something that he’d built up in his own head and it was dumb. Lance kept talking, but Keith wasn’t actually hearing what he was saying. He was too stuck in his own head. “So, Plax is nice, huh?” he blurted out suddenly. Lance stopped mid-sentence. Keith looked over at him.

“Oh, yeah, she’s cool.”

“What were you guys talking about?” Keith watched as Lance bit his lip and shrugged.

“Stuff. Nothing important really.”

“She seems really into you.” Keith was pretty sure the jealousy was evident in his voice. He really hoped Lance wouldn’t notice. Lance hummed in response.

“Did she? I couldn’t tell.”

Keith’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about? She was giggling constantly and touching your arm and chest and isn’t that what girls do when they flirt?” Lance looked over at him for a moment, laughing a little.

“Is it?” he asked. Keith blushed.

“I wouldn’t know. I’m very gay.”

“Cool. I’m very bi.”

Oh, that made Keith even redder. “Um… you are?” he asked. Lance shot him a smile.  
  
“Yup. Why, you interested?” he joked. It had to be a joke. Keith looked away.

“Of course not,” he mumbled. “But if you’re into Plax, then you should go for it. I bet you would be happy together.” He looked up just in time to see Lance smile.

“Plax is a great girl. She’s beautiful and funny and smart, and maybe five years ago I would’ve dropped everything to be with a girl like her. But she’s not for me. Not saying I’m too good for her or anything, far from it, just that I’m not looking for a summer hookup.” It seemed like Lance was done with the subject and honestly, Keith couldn’t help but smile to himself, the jealousy soothed a little bit.

* * *

“You think we could fit a king size air mattress in there?” Lance asked from the next aisle over. He poked his head around the corner and grinned at Keith. “You know the ol’ saying, if the shack’s rocking, don’t come knocking.”

Keith threw a travel hammock at him. “You will not have sex with anyone in my shack.”

“Oh it’s _your_ shack, is it? I’m pretty sure we’ve been working on this thing together a few days now. Shouldn’t that qualify it as _our_ shack?” Lance asked, sliding the king sized air mattress box into the cart. Keith picked it up and handed it back to him.

“No. And put this back, it wouldn’t fit. A full size, maybe, but I don’t think an air mattress is necessary,” Keith said.

“Sitting on the floor ain’t the most comfortable, Keith.”

“An air mattress could pop. Let’s just get like pillows or cushions.”

“Oooh, let’s get one of those tent canopy things!”

“For what?”

“The aesthetic.”

“Oh my god. Put that back!” Keith laughed as Lance went back around the corner to the put the air mattress away. Keith continued walking down the aisle, pushing the cart. Lance met up with him at the end as they walked towards the pillow area.

“So, it’s completely off limits to bring someone back to the shack?” he asked.

“I thought you weren’t interested in a summer hookup,” Keith deadpanned.

“Okay, when I said it before it was in the Biblical sense.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“You don’t make sense, Keith!”

“Can you just pick out some pillows? God, my campers are more mature than you.”

Lance set about piling all of the most random pillows into the cart. One covered in white fur, one that had sequins all over it, one with an elephant on it. It was like there was no rhyme or reason to what he was choosing.

“Lance, can’t you just choose like a set? One that consists of just plain pillows?” Keith asked.

“What kind of gay are you, Keith?” Lance retorted.

“One who doesn’t understand why you have to pick out ten different kinds of pillows, all of which aren’t just normal pillows.”

“So it will look _nice_!”

“Whatever you say.”

Lance grabbed some plain ones for Keith’s sake. In red and blue.

* * *

A trip to some hardware stores and far too much money later, they were heading back to camp. Keith had found a back road that lead closer to the shack while bypassing the camp, so they went that way instead. He didn’t really want anyone to see all the stuff and then they’d have to make up some bullshit excuse for why they had a portable generator. And like twenty pillows.

They carried everything into the shack and started setting it up. Lance had found some battery operated LED string lights, so he strung them up all around the ceiling. They set up the generator and the stupid mini fridge that Lance had convinced him to get. The first thing in it was a six pack of Keith’s favorite beer. And then they set up all the blankets and pillows. By the time they were done, the floor was actually quite cozy, and it did look really nice. Lance had an eye for this stuff.

Lance cracked open two beers and handed one to Keith as he sat down beside him. They clinked them together and both took a sip.

“This place is too cool,” Lance said, looking around. Keith nodded.

“Yeah. Thanks for helping me out, Lance.”

“Yeah… no problem, man.” Keith looked over at Lance to see that he looked a little dejected. Keith gave him a concerned look.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I… I know you said that this is your shack, and I get that. You found it, you fixed it. I just helped you decorate. But really, I like it here. It’s peaceful. Is it okay if I come back here sometimes just to… get a breather. I won’t bring anyone out here. I wouldn’t break your trust like that, I know you didn’t want to share this with anyone. I’d rather just be here with you anyways.”

Keith’s stupid traitor stomach was at it again, along with a special guest, his stupid traitor heart. He felt like it was gonna pound out of his chest.

“Yeah… yeah, no, you can come here anytime,” Keith breathed, blushing a little. And then Lance gave him that stupid bright smile.

“Thanks, Keith,” he said. Keith nodded.

“No problem.”

* * *

Keith had barely made it back to his cabin when Shiro appeared at his door. The campers got all excited. Every single camper looked up to Shiro, and it was obvious why. He looked like a modern day superhero. Keith let him indulge them for a while, before Shiro finally asked if he could talk with him outside.

They walked up to the Nature building and sat down on the ledge facing out towards the woods. The walk up was silent and it continued to be silent for a few more moments, before Keith felt like his nerves were too on edge. “Is it time for one of our annual brother bonding moments?” Keith asked. Shiro smiled.

“So… I’ve heard you’ve been sneaking off with Lance a lot.” Keith turned bright red.

“Oh my god, fuck you.”

Shiro laughed. “Keith, c’mon, what’s the big deal? You’ve made a friend.” Keith side-eyed him. “A friend you’d like to be more, wouldn’t you?”

“I barely know him.” Another lie, Lance had essentially spent the past few days telling him his life story.

“So get to know him.”

“He’s so different from me.”

“Opposites attract.”

“He… he deserves better.”

Shiro’s brows furrowed together. “Now, that’s not right at all. I know every ex you’ve had has been an ass who made you feel inferior somehow, but Keith, you’re not. You’re a good person. And you deserve to be happy.”

“And who’s to say Lance is my chance for that, Shiro? It’s stupid to think that my be-all end-all could be found at a summer camp. At the end of the summer, we’ll all go our separate ways, and who knows if I’ll ever see him again?”

“Keith, stop thinking so far in advance. I didn’t say Lance could be your be-all end-all as you put it, but he could be good for you. Just… let yourself enjoy the moment.”

“Shiro, I can’t do that. You know I can’t do that, I’ve never been good at it.”

“I know. But maybe now is the perfect time to start trying. There’s still a lot more summer left, and you’re already having a good time, I know you are. You like the nature walks, you like the kids and you’re even good with them. Who would’ve predicted that?” Keith playfully punched his brother’s arm. Shiro chuckled. “Just let yourself live in the moment. Enjoy the summer. Enjoy hanging out with Lance. And don’t think about the after so much.”

Keith sighed . “Okay, Shiro. I’ll try.”

* * *

After they left the shack, Lance went back to his cabin for a bit, just to make sure none of his campers were dead, before heading up to the kitchen. Hunk was happily cooking away, preparing so much pizza, more pizza than Lance had ever seen in his entire life. Pidge was chilling on the counter near him, tapping away at her laptop, her ridiculously large headphones perched around her neck.

Hunk looked up when he heard the swing door slap open. “Hey buddy! Want a slice?”

“Oh you know it,” Lance said, taking the slice offered to him without question. He took a bite and groaned. “Hunk, your food is the best food I have ever tasted. Do not tell my mom I said that though, she will kill me.” Hunk just laughed and went back to preparing dinner. Pidge watched Lance with a raised brow.

“So, where did you and Keith run off to today?” she asked, adding a teasing lilt to Keith’s name.

“That would be none of your business,” Lance responded.

“Why? Was it a date?” Pidge asked. Hunk looked over expectantly.

“No! It wasn’t a date. It’s just a secret,” Lance said defensively.

“A secret date?” Hunk teased.  
  
“Oh not you too!”

“C’mon Lance, you gotta admit, this is all pretty suspicious. You’ve been ditching our nightly campfires to go disappear somewhere, while Keith has also disappeared somewhere, and then today you two literally left the campground together. What’s going on here?” Pidge asked.

“Yeah Lance, if you guys are dating, we’ll be happy for you!” Hunk added. Lance sighed.

“I have been hanging out with Keith, but I can’t tell you what we’ve been doing. It is a secret, but it’s for a good reason. It’s just… it’s Keith secret and I don’t want him to like not trust me, you know? So I’m not going to tell you guys.”

Pidge hummed. “That’s actually pretty honorable, Lance.”

“Yeah man, but it’s cool that you’re hanging out with Keith. Shiro was telling me he was nervous Keith wouldn’t make any friends here,” Hunk said. Lance frowned.

“But Keith’s like… really cool. And he’s smart, though he never really gets my references. I don’t mind explaining them though. And he’s pretty funny. Like, he doesn’t try to be, but he just kinda ends up saying funny things, I don’t know. And he’s cute….” Lance blushed. “I mean, objectively!” Pidge and Hunk shared a look. “Don’t do that!”

“You think Keith is cute?” Hunk asked.

“You think Shay is cute!”  
  
“Yes, but that’s old news, we’re talking about you right now.”

Lance sputtered a bit before groaning. “Okay, yes, Keith is cute! Sue me!” Pidge smirked.

“Me thinks that Lance has a crush on Keith,” she said.

“I do not have a crush on Keith.”

“Sounds fake, but okay.”

“Guys, I don’t have a crush on Keith. I just like hanging out with him. It’s all completely platonic. Not even slightly romantic in any sense.” That was a lie. Lance had picked out the string lights to make it at least a little romantic in the shack.  
  
“I don’t know, I think Keith would be good for you, man. He’s so different to you. You guys would balance each other out,” Hunk said. Lance blushed a little.

“I mean… cool, but we’re not together. Can we talk about something else, please?” he asked desperately. Hunk and Pidge shared another look, before they both nodded.

“Okay, we’ll take pity on you. Wanna pick out the songs for the end of summer dance?” Pidge asked. Lance smirked.

“Oh you have come to the right man, Pidgeon.”

“Don’t call me that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated! And if you'd like to talk in general, hit me up on [tumblr](theoddpocalypse.tumblr.com).


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